Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are associated with poor clinical outcomes including increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs among infected patients.
Colonized patients are an important reservoir of beta-lactamases leading to the transmission and spread of these organisms within hospitals and long term care facilities. The prevalence of these organisms in such facilities in the United States has steadily increased over the last 30 years. Treatment options for patients with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) are extremely limited; therefore, identification of infection and containment of any potential outbreak within facilities is crucial.